The Bible is consistent from Genesis to Revelation. The matter of the Temple and
its symbolism is an example of this. In this Exposition we show the beginning
and ending of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. It is a glorious plan
from which God has never varied — in the typical sense.

I recommend that you read the Newsletter
for March 2004 in conjunction with this important article. It contains
additional biblical information and teaching.

The temple was a physical replica of God’s heavenly abode. When
Moses was first ordered to construct a temple, he was told to make it portable —
it was a tent, or tabernacle.

“Let
them make me a sanctuary: that I may dwell among them. According to all that I
show you, after the patternof the tabernacle, and the patternof all the instruments thereof, even so shall you make it.”
1

Exodus 25:8–9

In
the Book of Hebrews we are told that the tabernacle, and all its services, were
“patterns of
things in the heavens” (Hebrews 9:23). The physical objects
associated with the earthly sanctuary were
“figures of the true” (Hebrews
9:24) — the “shadow
of heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5). Each physical item had its
spiritual counterpart in heaven. So, as long as there was a tabernacle or temple
on earth, there was a material reflection of God’s heavenly palace for mankind
to see. 2
The temple represented God’s home on earth. Of course, God does not literally
dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24), and though the temple at
Jerusalem was a true image of the heavenly, in Hebrews it is made abundantly
clear that the earthly sanctuary of God is
“not the very image of the
[heavenly] things” (Hebrews 10:1). It was only
“figures of the true”
(Hebrews 9:24).
3

If we wish
to know what God’s heavenly abode is really like, then we must understand the
significance of the three general compartments in the earthly sanctuary, the
furniture, and the persons (the priests) who served within the holy areas.
All these physical things typify spiritual counterparts in heaven. The
heavenly dwelling place is where God is at the present.

In the Book
of Revelation, which depicts a period of time yet future to us, John is
transported by the Spirit into heaven (Revelation 4:2). While there, he saw a
throne with God seated on it. Around the throne were 24 elders and four living
creatures (Cherubim). Before the throne was a seven branched lampstand and a
sea of glass. The heavenly beings gave glory and honor to the Father who sat on
the throne (Revelation 4:2–11). Inside this heavenly temple — the inner temple —
John also saw individuals worshipping God who no longer needed the sun for
light (Revelation 7:14–16). In the inner temple he witnessed the true
“ark of the
testament” (Revelation 11:19) and the pot of manna (Revelation
2:17).
And finally, the inner sanctum contained
“the tree of life, which is in the midst of
the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).

Outside the
Holy of Holies and just to the East of it was the general Holy Place. In it
John saw a golden altar with incense and a censor associated with it
(Revelation 8:3). Located in front of this incense altar, outside the Holy
Place, was another altar under which were the
“souls of them that were slain for the word
of God” (Revelation 6:9).

Everyone of
these heavenly features was represented in typical form by the physical
sanctuary on earth. The complete and permanent temple was that of Solomon which
he built in
Jerusalem. It had
all the heavenly factors exhibited. The celestial throne of God was portrayed
by the mercy seat located in the Holy of Holies.

“Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest
[the
Holy of Holies]
by the blood of Jesus
through the vail.”

Hebrews
10:19–20

“Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy.”

Hebrews 4:16

The
throne of God is one of mercy. Also within the holiest area of Solomon’s temple
was “the golden pot
of manna” (Hebrews 9:4). Those who will eat of this manna
“shall serve him
day and night in his [inner]
temple [the Holy of Holies]
... they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more”
(Revelation 7:15–16).

The Ark of the Covenant

Alongside
this pot of manna was the
“ark of the testament” (Hebrews
9:4). In the earthly tabernacle of Moses and the
temple
of Solomon
the slabs of stone on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments were placed
within this ark, a box-like structure supported by two horizontal poles that
enabled it to be carried.
4
These stones were called the “tables of the covenant” (Hebrews 9:4). These
physical stones with their laws were meant only for Israel under the Old
Covenant. 5
Spirit beings do not need these Old Covenant physical regulations, so the ark of
the testament in heaven does not have within it the two tables of stone or the
extra scrolls positioned in its sleeves (Exodus 40:20; Deuteronomy 31:26).

Only the
ark itself is in heaven. It represents the external witness that God has the
power to make any necessary laws for the supervision of the universe. The ark
could figuratively contain different laws for the administration of the various
phases of divine government that God imposes on His creatures. Thus, the tables
of stone which originated from the granite outcroppings at Mt. Sinai were never
positioned in the heavenly ark. They were carved out of Sinai and
only placed in the tabernacle in the time of Moses.

Indeed,
just before the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in the 6th
century B.C., those stones, according to Jewish tradition, were deposited East
of the Dead Sea by Jeremiah near where Moses was buried (2 Maccabees 2:4–8).Jeremiah was
supposed to have prophesied that the physical ark will one day be found at the
end of the age and it, along with the stones thereof, will be replaced in the
Millennial temple. This is highly probable. One thing for certain: Those
material stones were never placed within the heavenly ark. They are buried East
of the Dead Sea. As far as we know, there is nothing (in a literal sense) within
the heavenly ark.

The Holy of Holies

But what
else was located in the Holy of Holies? In heaven there were twenty-four elders.
On earth these were typified by the twenty-four priestly courses (each headed by
a chief priest) who performed the regular daily services in the temple on a
rotation basis (2 Chronicles 24:1–19). The father of John the Baptist was
portraying the role of one of these heavenly elders when he administered in the
eighth course of the twenty-four orders (Luke 1:5, 8).

There were
also the Cherubim in the heavenly temple. Statues were made of them and placed
near the mercy seat in the earthly temple. Also within the Holy of Holies was
“Aaron’s rod that
budded” (Hebrews 9:4). This staff was made from a limb of an
almond tree (Numbers 17:8). The almond is the earliest of the springtime trees
to blossom in the Holy Land. It represents new life — the first new life of
every new year. This rod made from an almond tree was typical of the tree of
life located in the Garden of Eden.

“To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise [park or garden]
of God”

Revelation
2:7

With this
reference to the tree of life, we are ready to investigate the theme of this
Exposition: “The
Temple
Symbolism
in Genesis.” The events associated with the story of Adam and Eve, the Garden of
Eden, Cain and Abel, the land of Nod, etc., will take on normal temple features
which anyone in the time of Moses would have recognized. Even in the New
Testament the scenes within the Garden of Eden were reflections of things in
God’s heavenly temple. John told the Ephesian church that they could have a
right to partake of
“the tree of life” located in
God’s paradise in heaven (Revelation 2:7). There was once an actual
“tree of life”
in the Garden of Eden.

If all the
symbolic features have literal counterparts (which they do) then this
“tree of life”
must have been represented by a real almond tree growing in the Garden of Eden.
But there was also another tree in the Garden called
“the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”
(Genesis 2:17). Our first parents were allowed, at the beginning, to eat of any
tree of the Garden (including even the tree of life). Only the tree of good and
evil was off-limits to them. If the tree of life was the almond tree, what was
this latter tree? The identification may also be given in the Bible. We will
show this in due course.

The Plan of the Temple

It is
necessary to recognize the basic patterns of the temple before one can grasp
what happened (in a symbolic way) with the story of Adam and Eve. The temple had
three compartments with major pieces of furniture located within each of them.

Note that
the entrance into the temple was from
the East. Only Israelites were permitted to pass the eastern gate and enter the
court of Israel. On the West side of this court, and just before the entrance
into the Holy Place,
was the “altar of
burnt offering.” This was the altar on which animals were
sacrificed. Into the next compartment (the Holy Place) only the priests could
enter — they also entered from the East. And into the third room (the Holy of
Holies) only the High Priest could go on the Day of Atonement — again he could
only enter it from the East. I am emphasizing that the entrance to all
compartments was from the East.There is an important reason for
this that I will explain in a moment.

The Temple and the Garden
of Eden

When Adam
and Eve were put into the Garden they were in a state of moral and spiritual
perfection.
6
As a result they were able to observe God in a visible sense and even talk with
Him at particular times of the day. Only after they sinned was this privilege
taken away. This occurred when they were cast out from the Garden.

Before they
sinned, however, they were in a very privileged state. Of all the multitudes of
spiritual beings in the universe, how many of them are able to have such a close
and daily contact with the Creator God? Just very few — probably those
associated with the throne itself such as the Cherubim and the twenty-four
elders. But in the Garden were two human beings in the closest of association
with God Himself. It must have been like a heaven on earth! And indeed, that’s
just what it was, in a symbolic way. It was as if God’s celestial palace
temporarily had come to earth. Even the Garden, the Cherubim of the Garden, the
altar built by Cain and Abel, the land of Eden, and the land of Nod are all
connected with the temple symbolism and are direct images of God’s heavenly
abode. And for the brief period of time before the sin of Adam and Eve,
"heaven” was really here on earth.

In the Garden our first
parents were able to talk face to face with God. But note an important point.
They only had conversations with Him at certain times of the day. They did not
see Him on all occasions. It was
“in the cool of the day” that
they came into “the
presence of the Lord” (Genesis 3:8). The expressions
“cool of the day”
and
“the presence of the Lord” were a part of temple language.
7“The cool of the
day” was the period when the Sun got lower in the sky and the cool
sea breezes normally swept over the Palestinian region. This was the time of the
evening sacrifice (1 Kings
18:36;
Daniel 9:21) — about
three in the afternoon. This was the time when the animals were being regularly
sacrificed (and also in the morning about
nine o’clock).
At these times the people were then reckoned as being
“in the presence of God” (2
Chronicles 20:19).

Finally,
Adam and Eve sinned. They ate of the tree of which they were forbidden. This
tree, like the tree of life, was also in the middle of the Garden. But with
their partaking of it, God was angry and sent them out of the Garden. Never
again could they enter the Garden in this life.

“And the Lord God said,
‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest
he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for
ever’: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at
the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life.”

Genesis
3:22–24

This
episode has some very significant features associated with it. Observe they
were expelled East of the Garden. Cherubim (angelic beings — later
connected with temple symbolism) were also stationed at the East gate to
the Garden with a flaming sword to prevent Adam and Eve from re-entering. 8
When this happened, the tree of life became off-limits to them. Their
face-to-face contact with God came to an end. The Cherubim guarded the East
entrance (the only gate) into the Garden and forbade anyone to enter. We will
see in a moment that these features represent precise arrangements found in the
later tabernacle and temple.

Cain and Abel

Our first
parents were cast out of the Garden — never to re-enter in this life. They still
remained, however, in the territory of Eden. It is important to note that the
“Garden” and the country of “Eden” were not synonymous. The Garden was in
Eden, but the Garden did not represent all Eden. Look at a modern
example. My residence is in
Pasadena,
California.
Pasadena is in
California,
yet not all
California is
Pasadena. Adam and Eve were simply expelled from the Garden in Eden. They
were still able to live in other regions of
Eden.

Adam and
Eve then had children. The first of which we have record were Cain and Abel.
Cain became a tiller of the ground — he raised fruits and vegetables. Abel was
a sheepherder (Genesis 4:2).

“And in
process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an
offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock
and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth,
and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, ‘Why are you wroth? and
why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and
if you do not well, sin lies at the door. And unto you shall be his desire, and
you shall rule over him.’ And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to
pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother,
and slew him.”

Genesis 4:3–8

There are
three major points to consider in this narrative. First, both men decided
to bring offerings at a set time of the year — on a particular day. The phrase
“in process of
time,” in Hebrew, means
“at the end of days.” It often
signified the end of the agricultural (or civil) year (1 Kings 17:7) and was
near the beginning of Autumn. Recall that the Israelites were required to appear
three times in the year at the temple (Exodus
23:14–17).
One of these occasions was
“at the end of the year” (verse
16). This was the season of Tabernacles. Cain brought token offerings of his
crops “at the end
of days.” This shows the brothers must have appeared before God at
a precise time near the Autumn of the year. This means they must have been told
by God whento bring them.

Second,
they also must have been told whereto bring them because they
“brought” their offerings to one altar.

Third,
they were no doubt told whatto bring. God would hardly have been
angry with Cain unless he brought offerings not sanctioned by God.

This is
similar to what happened with the later Israelites in regard to the temple. They
were told when, where, and whatto bring to the
temple. All sacrificial offerings could only be presented at the sanctuary.
Under no circumstances was any other location allowed (Deuteronomy 16:5–6, 11,
16). With Cain and Abel, the same factors are in evidence. Back at that time,
they went to the area where they knew God had been dwelling — He was a resident
of the Garden. They built their altar as close to God as possible near the East
entrance (the gate or door) to the Garden.

When the
proper time came they both offered their gifts, waving them in sacrificial
praise to God whom they believed to be in the Garden. God then issued His
approval of Abel's offering, but He was displeased with Cain’s offering. The
older brother no doubt had been told to bring a lamb or goat, but Cain offered
fruit and vegetables. God was not pleased and Cain’s countenance fell. God then
answered:

“Why is your countenance
fallen? If you do well
[in
the future and bring the proper sacrifice],
shall you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin
[a sin
offering]
lies at the door.”

Genesis 4:6–7

Many people
for generations have stumbled over the meaning of this verse. Yet it is quite
clear what is meant if one understands that temple language is being used. God
was really being merciful to Cain. The mercy was this: If Cain would repent and
still bring the proper offering (“if
you do well”), then he would be accepted; but if he did not do so,
then “sin
[a sin offering]
lies at the door.” This “sin” was a sin-offering. God said that He
would provide a sin-offering which would lie
“at the door.” What was this
door?

The Gate of the Garden,
the Door of the
Temple

The matter
becomes understandable once this “door” is identified. The word in Hebrew is
pehthagh and refers in other parts of the Old Testament to the entrance
of any tent (Genesis 18:1), but more particularly to the
“door of the
tabernacle” (Exodus 29:4), or the
“door of the temple”
(Ezekiel 8:7, 16), or
“the door of the east gate of
the Lord’s house” (Ezekiel
10:19).

In the case
of Cain and Abel, they constructed their altar at the East gate of the
Garden just in front of the Cherubim which guarded its entrance (Genesis 3:24).
God was indicating to Cain that he still had a chance to obtain a proper
offering and offer it. Cain, on the other hand, was a tiller of the ground. He
had no lamb to give unless he got one from his brother. God understood the
problem, so He added further:
“if you do not well”
(even if Cain was unable to obtain the proper animal sacrifice) God would have
a sin-offering to lie
“at the door” of the Garden
where the altar was located.
9

The next
phrase has been an enigma to many.
“And unto you shall be his desire, and you
shall rule over him.” This expression is explained in Genesis
3:16. Like a wife desired her husband and like a husband ruled his wife in Old
Testament times (Genesis 3:16), so Cain would have a sin-offering provided for
him that would allow him to rule over “sin.” It simply meant that Cain would
gain mastery over sin — over his mistakes — by an offering provided by God.
(Genesis 4:7). This was a noble gesture of grace on God’s part. Yet in spite of
this act of mercy Cain did not obtain the proper animal, nor did he accept God’s
grace of supplying a sin-offering for him to master sin. He responded with
something very bad and in no way in accordance with the divine command. He
offered up his own brother.

“And Cain talked
with Abel”
(Genesis 4:8). The margin has “quarreled”. They got into an argument.
“Cain rose up
against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Genesis 4:8). This murder
took place in the field. God then reprimanded Cain.
“What have you done? the voice of your
brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground” (Genesis
4:10).
In later times it was recognized that the murder of Abel was a sacrifice of one
of God’s saints. Such sacrifices symbolically took place on the altarof God. Jesus said:

“That
upon you
[Pharisees]
may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of
righteous Abelunto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom
you slew between the
[inner]
temple and the altar.”

Matthew 23:35

In
Revelation the blood of righteous saints was also reckoned as flowing from the
altar from whence they were figuratively sacrificed.

“I saw under the altarthe souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How
long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth.’”

Revelation
6:9–10

This is
very similar to what God said about Abel.
“The voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto
me from the ground” (Genesis
4:10).
Clearly, a New Testament connection was made between Abel and the end-time
martyrs mentioned in Revelation. Like Abel, their blood was dripping down from
their sacrificed bodies into the pool located under the altar. This receptacle
for blood was supposed to be for that of animals, but in the case of righteous
Abel (and all the other martyred saints), their deaths were considered human
sacrifices — killed on the altar of God. Abel’s murder was too much for God to
take:

“Now are you
[Cain]
cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s
blood from your hand ... a fugitive and a vagabond shall you be in the earth.”

Genesis
4:11–12

Whereas Cain had worked in the same area of Eden with his brother and parents,
he was now to be sent away from the land. He was to be a wanderer — one without
a fixed abode. He was to live at a distance from God, even “out of His sight.”
Cain considered this almost too much to carry.

“My
punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me outfrom the face of the earth
[the
land where Cain lived];
and from your face shall I be hid.”

Genesis
4:13–14

Cain’s punishment involved him being “driven out” from the land he formerly
tilled, and away from the “face” of God.

“And
Cain went out from the presence of the Lord,and dwelt in the land
of Nod
[Wandering],
onthe east side of
Eden.”

Genesis 4:16

What
marvelous teaching is found in this latter scripture once it is understood that
temple language was being used by Moses. Note that Cain was sent OUT OF EDEN.
He went East
of Eden.
And by leaving Eden, he
“went out from the presence of the Lord.”
Now look at the second diagram.
It
will be similar to the outline of the temple which we gave earlier, but this
time we will involve the story of Adam and Eve, the Garden, the Cherubim with
the flaming sword, the altar of Cain and Abel, the land of Eden, and the land of
Nod [Wandering]. It has excellent teaching.

The Tabernacle of Moses

The whole
story revolves around the later design of the tabernacle of Moses — and the
temple of Solomon. The Garden in which Adam and Eve were first placed was later
represented by the Holy Place into which only priests could enter. When Solomon
built the temple at Jerusalem he decorated the outside and inside walls of the
Holy Place
in a way that made it look like a garden.

“He carved all the walls of
the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open
flowers, within
[on
the inside walls]
and without
[on
the outside walls].”

1 Kings
6:29

Israelites came into the court of the temple and looked westward beyond the
altar of burnt offerings towards the
Holy Place,
it looked like a garden protected by Cherubim. This exactly depicts the Garden
in Eden.

When Adam
and Eve were at first in the Garden, they could talk with God at certain times.
He was “among the
trees” (Genesis 3:8). The two important trees (the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) were located
“in the midst of
the Garden” (Genesis 2:9). And in the Holy of Holies (in the
“middle” of the temple), was placed Aaron’s rod that budded and produced
almonds. This rod was not attached to the earth; it needed no water or nutrients
to cause it to grow. It represented life coming from a supernatural source. It
was a fit description of the tree of life. The tree of life was no doubt
symbolized by the almond tree.

But there
were many kinds of trees in the Garden (Genesis 2:9; Ezekiel 31:9). But the main
type that Solomon most associated with the Garden was the palm — the date palm
(1 Kings 6:29).
In fact, in Solomon’s temple only the date palm figured prominently. 10
This was also the case with Ezekiel in his future temple. So, alongside the
main almond tree, it could well be that a date palm represented the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Eve
“saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes” (Genesis 3:6). This could
well describe the dates that grow in clusters near the top of the palm tree.

Maybe it
was or maybe not, but within the future temple as described by Ezekiel there are
representations of Cherubim and palm trees directly inside the Holy of Holies
(Ezekiel 41:18–20, 25–26).
11
This could show that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the midst of
the Garden alongside the tree of life (the almond) was the date palm. It is
interesting that Jeremiah considered the palm was a tree connected with good
and evil (Jeremiah 10:5). Of course, there is nothing wrong with date palms or
the dates they produce, but if God said not to eat from a tree of the Garden (be
it any type of tree), it became bad — not for the tree — but for any who would
partake of it. This is the essence of the narrative.

Further Temple Teaching

Cain was
sent into the land
of Nod,
East of Eden, away from the presence of God. He became cut off from the Eternal.
God then gave him a “mark” to show that Cain was not completely forgotten and
that a measure of protection would be afforded him and his descendants. Cain
became a representative of all Gentiles. They were reckoned as being in
Nod (wandering — without a fixed spiritual home). And while they could approach
the East entrance to Eden, they could not go in. A barrier was placed around
Eden.
The altar which Cain and Abel constructed in the area of
Eden
near the East gate (door) of the Garden was out of bounds to those who lived in
Nod.

This
condition existed throughout the antediluvian period. But with the great flood
of Noah, everything was destroyed — the Garden, the altar, the barriers, etc.
When Noah and his children began to repopulate the earth, none of these former
things were retained — except in the memory of man, and only in symbol. In the
time of Moses, however, God selected the Israelites to be His nation — in
favored status to Him. Moses was ordered to build a tabernacle which resembled
the condition that existed in the pre-flood age. Outside the tabernacle was
represented the land
of Nod.
The court on the inside of the tabernacle (the court of Israel) was Eden. The
Holy Place was the Garden. The Holy of Holies was the center of the Garden. The
tabernacle not only represented Eden and the Garden, but it was also a
physical type of God’s heavenly abode.

The
Israelites were reckoned as being in
Eden
like Adam and Eve were. However, even the privileged nation could only go to the
East entrance to the Holy Place — which represented the Garden. Into the
Holy Place
(the Garden) only the Aaronic priests could go at the time of the morning and
evening (the cool of the day) sacrifices. And even the priests were barred from
entering “the midst
of the Garden” — the Holy of Holies. They were only able to get
close to the curtain that separated the outer Garden from its midst.

Only once
in the year was anyone allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. On the Day of
Atonement the High Priest, after many ceremonies of purification, and after he
clouded the entire inner chamber with incense so that the mercy seat would be
hidden from view, was able to push the curtain aside and briefly step into the
inner sanctum. After he did his required duties, the curtain came down once
again, and the Holy of Holies (the midst of the Garden) became closed for
another year. This showed that while the tabernacle stood, God still reckoned
barriers between Himself and mankind.
12

While Adam
and Eve before they sinned were able to witness God’s presence, their sins
caused them to be sent from the Garden (the Holy Place). Cain and his
descendants were sent further East — they were expelled from Eden and went to
Nod. But when the Flood came the Garden, the altar, Eden, etc. all disappeared
from earth. Mankind now found itself without any physical area on earth in which
God dwelt. That’s why the early descendants of Noah wanted to build a tower
“to reach to
heaven” (Genesis 11:1–9). They wanted to reach God, to have access
to His heavenly presence. But God would not allow it. He had been angry with
man for his ways, so He changed their languages and scattered them into all the
earth. He sent all mankind into a condition of “Nod.”

Finally,
God selected Abraham to be the father of a nation which would be responsible for
leading man (in a step-by-step way) back to God. By the time of Moses, the
Abrahamic family had now reached nationhood. Moses built the tabernacle, and
Israel was brought back into Eden once again. A middle wall of partition was
erected, however, that kept all Gentiles out. God even put restrictions on Israel.
Even they were told to stay out of the
Holy Place
(representing the Garden). The Aaronic priests were allowed to go in. But no one
was permitted in the Holy of Holies except the High Priest on the Day of
Atonement — and even then he (the holiest man on earth, symbolically) was not
allowed to see the mercy seat. All of this shows that God still had several
barriers which kept many sections of mankind away from an intimate association
with Him.

The Revelation of “the
Mystery”

Through
Christ (who was the sin-offering that God first told Cain about, which God would
place on the altar at the door of the Garden by grace) through that
offering the whole barrier system was to be abolished. Instead of a step-by-step
expelling of man eastward into relative oblivion (as happened with Adam, Eve,
Cain, the antediluvian world, and those at the tower of Babel), all the barriers
to God as shown by the temple (and the Garden) were to be removed in Christ.
Paul said, “The
middle wall of partition” has now been broken down (Ephesians
2:14). This means that the Gentiles (like Cain) who were in a state of wandering
and without any fixed spiritual home, can come into the court of Israel where
the altar is located. This got them back to
Eden.
But there is more than simply getting access to the holy altar.

Once the
“sin-offering at
the door” is accepted they can join hands with Israelites (with
both peoples now called
“the new man” — not Israelite
or Gentile), and both walk up the fifteen steps into the Holy Place. The
Cherubim no longer will keep them out with their flaming sword. They are now
back in the Garden from whence our first parents were expelled. But that is not
the end. When Christ died on the cross, the curtain in the temple that separated
the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (“the
midst of the Garden”) was supernaturally torn in two from the top
down (Matthew 27:50–51). In Hebrews we are told that the destruction of this
final barrier now gives us
“boldness to enter into the holiest
[the Holy of Holies] by the blood of Christ ... through the vail”
(Hebrews 10:19–20).

“Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16

What
glorious teaching! All the obstacles that God set up in a progressive sense to
alienate Himself from man (in a spiritual way) from the time of Adam and Eve
onward, He has systematically abolished through the work of Christ Jesus.

“Having
ABOLISHED in his fleshthe enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances
[decrees of separation];
for to make in himself of two one new man, so making peace.”

Ephesians
2:15

All the
commandments and decrees which God formerly ordained to separate Himself from
various peoples, have been removed in Christ. Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain,
Israelite and Gentile, you and I, are now back “in the Garden” — and now in the
very midst of it. We do not even have to wait for
“the cool of the day” to come
into contact with our Father. We now have a constant presence — in a spiritual
sense. And the day is soon coming when we ourselves will be spirit beings (1
Corinthians 15:42–55).

When that
day arrives, we will not only be able to talk with God face to face as did our
first parents, but
“we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is”
(1
John 3:2). As God is Spirit, so will we be. We will then be
“as he is” — as His own Spirit-born children. This is far more glorious than it was
with our first parents. Indeed, reaching this position is the very purpose for
living. Our experience with sin, with an alienation from God, with suffering,
will help us for all eternity to love God our Father in a much greater way than
our first parents were able to experience. What a glorious future awaits
mankind through Christ.

The Holy of
Holies is now open to all people on earth without social, racial, or outward
religious distinction. It is Christ who has redeemed Adam and his family to
Himself. Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead are
mankind’s guarantee of a certain salvation. It comes to us by God’s grace, not
man’s works. One day all humanity will understand this truth.

ELM

Appendix 1: The Garden
of Eden and the Temple

In what kind
of geographical region was the Garden of Eden? The Bible gives the answer. Moses
said that a stream watered the Garden. From its midst it became the headwaters
of four major rivers. Since it is self evident that rivers flow down slope, this
is an indication that the Garden was located in an elevated area of the earth —
probably on a mountain. Ezekiel said that Eden “the garden of God”
was “the
holy mountain
of God” (Ezekiel 28:13–14). 13
When the tabernacle was established in the land of Palestine by Joshua,
he placed it on the mound of a hill called Shiloh. Recall that the tabernacle and the temples represented
the Garden and the Land of Eden.
They were each placed on a “high place” in order to resemble the “mountain of
God” in which our first parents saw Him. This is why Solomon followed the same
pattern and constructed the temple on
Mount
Moriah
in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 3:1).

All peoples of
the world recognized that the Garden of God had first been located on a
mountain. This is why they almost always erected their pagan altars or temples
on “high places”
in order to mimic this primeval situation. While this point in itself was
proper, they combined such heathen practices with their worship that the
prophets felt compelled to vilify those “high places” (Numbers 22:41; Jeremiah 48:35). The pagans held the belief that their
temples on “high
places” made them in closer contact with their gods in the
heavens. This was a very early belief and is reflected in the building of the
Tower of Babel not long
after the Flood. They built it high so that its “top may reach unto heaven”
(Genesis 11:4). They wanted God to come in contact with them at this
Mesopotamian shrine.

Professor
Mercea Eliade, the famous historian of ancient religious beliefs, said:
“According to
Mesopotamian beliefs, a central mountain joins heaven and earth.” 14
This “mountain” was the means of reaching heaven. So it was either a temple on a
mountain or a high tower into the heavens that the ancients used as a means of
worshipping their gods or even the true God. When Jacob was at a site called Luz
he saw a ladder that seemed to reach into heaven.
“Behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the
top of it reached to heaven: and behold angels of God ascending and descending
on it” (Genesis 28:12). So impressed was Jacob over this event
that he named the place
“Bethel” — the House of God. This term was synonymous with the later word
“temple.” And interestingly, the region where Jacob had this experience was
called “Mount
Bethel” (1 Samuel 13:2).

All of this reflects the fact that the original Garden of
Eden (where God first came in contact with man) was on a mountain — a
“high place.”
The Garden, as we have shown in the body of the Exposition, was looked on as an
archetype of the heavenly abode of God. The later tabernacle and temples showed
the same thing. Even the Gentiles wanted their temples (or holy areas) to
resemble — in their way of thinking — the living places for the gods. Plato’s
ideal city was reckoned as having a celestial counterpart (Plato’s Republic,
592b; cf. 500e). The pagans reckoned that God would come and visit them if they
constructed a home or a city on earth like the one He lived in among the stars.
And true, God told Moses (and later David) to build Him a home on earth like His
home in heaven. So, the tabernacle and the temple were constructed. These were
only types, but they served to give mankind an example of what the
palace of God was really like.
Knowing God’s home helps us know
Him.

Ernest L. Martin, 1977Edited by David Sielaff, March
2004

Appendix 2: Salvation,
the Garden, and the Temple

Eden fits the accepted descriptions of what a “temple” is. John
Lundquist in his article “What Is a
Temple? A Preliminary
Typology,” lists 15 descriptive motifs for Near East temples. 15
It is interesting that although most temples do not fit more than a majority of
these motifs, Eden
fits them all to
some degree. Lundquist notes that Near East Temples:

Are
architectural examples of “cosmic mountains.” The temple is the mountain itself

Are on mountains
that arose from waters covering the primordial earth during creation

Have waters of
life coming from them (figurative if not actual)

Are built on
set-apart or sacred space

Are oriented to
all four cardinal directions

Have an
architectural orientation toward heaven

Have architectural plans revealed to man by divinity

Are central
institutions (a) for social unity & prosperity, (b) their loss is a disaster
for the community

Are where kings,
priests, worshippers and images of the gods hare made holy for contact with
deity, eternal life and sacred marriage

Are the
connecting point “between this world and the next”

Are for ritual meals

Are for
communication with deity

Are where deity
gives law to man

Are for
sacrifice

Are a place of
secrecy.

In fact, it is
likely more correct to say that Eden was the archetype or the pattern for all
subsequent temples in the
Near East, including the Tabernacle and the Temples in
Jerusalem. Yes, as Dr. Martin
correctly points out at the beginning, the author of Hebrews does say that the
Tabernacle was a shadow of heavenly things, but for the period before the flood,
Eden was where God Himself walked. And, as far as we know,
Eden continued to exist until the flood at the time of Noah. As Dr. Martin notes
above, Eden continued until the Flood. Eden was a place of direct contact with
God where earth was connected with heaven, albeit Eden was off limits after
Adam’s sin, just as much as heaven is to us today.

If we put all
the factors side by side, the parallels between Eden and the Temple can be
summarized as follows (items in italics are unique to one side) 16:

God did not live in the Garden, but it was where His
presence was. God did not live in the Tabernacle, but it was where He met with
Israel. The
Tabernacle was a tent of meeting (Exodus 25:22, 29:42, 30:36). neither did
YHWH live in the Temple (2 Chronicles 6:21, 33). The Garden, the Tabernacle
and the Temple were where God was present at various times.

The relationships between the following schemes of
progression can be understood by another diagram:

The top scheme has to do with God’s relationship with
various people. It relates to the ritual system. The Gentiles could only
approach God through
Israel (a kingdom of priests). This will be the case even in the Millennium
when the Gentiles will come to God through Israel (Isaiah 2:2–4 and Micah
4:1–3). As a result the Gentiles will not only recognize YHWH as their God,
but they will begin to serve Him as well. Until Christ, Israel could only
approach God through the Levites and the Priests. The Priests could only
approach God at certain times and in certain places that God chose. That has
ended and all requirements have been fulfilled in Christ, and God the Father
can be approached, symbolically face-to-face.

For you and me the entire scheme is simplified. We can
approach God directly with only one mediator,
“For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5,
see also Galatians
3:19–24 and Hebrews chapters 8 and 9). Barriers to God no longer exist for you
and for me.

Temple
symbolism is fulfilled in you, not in a place, or in a scheme of
boundaries, or in days of the year, or in tasks to be performed, but simply in
the person of the resurrected Christ Jesus. He alone brings us directly into
the presence of God the Father through the Spirit of God,
“the Power of the
Highest” (Luke 1:35) which comes from the Father and Christ
through to you so that are now a child of God:

“You
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The
Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together.

Romans 8:15-17

You
have every right to act and relate to other people as the child of God that
you truly are, acting with love and consideration for others. It is your
inheritance — realize it, embrace it, live it.

DWS

1
See the article “The Patterns of the Temple” (
http://www.askelm.com/temple/t031102.htm)
which shows the same word “pattern” (or model or diagram) first used in
Exodus for the Tabernacle is used later in relation to the Temple. DWS

2 Consider that the Tabernacle/Temple symbolism lasted in some manner from the
time of Moses about 1450 B.C.E to 70 C.E., with an interruption with the
destruction of the Temple, the exile of the Jews to Babylon and the rebuilding
of the Temple in about 520 B.C.E. This is remarkably long period of some 1,450
years (1,520 years if you count the 70 years land’s rest and the people’s
exile). Now the ekklesia of God is the Temple of God and the household of
God (Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 3:2–6, 1 Peter 2:5). DWS

3 In Hebrews 12:24 the blood that Jesus sprinkled in heaven is compared to the
blood of Abel from Genesis 4:8.

4 For more information about the ark and the Cherubim that enfolded it, see the
article, “The Cherubim Had Wheels” at
www.askelm.com. DWS

5 Note that not all
the laws of the Ten Commandments recorded on the stones are applicable to spirit
beings. Since God or spirit beings cannot commit adultery nor break the
Sabbath, these laws on tables of stone are redundant for them. The Sabbath was
made only for man (Mark 2:27) — and God always works on the
Sabbath (John 5:17). Besides, the Ten Commandment legislation, though beautiful
for the time it was intended, was recognized by Paul as “the ministration of death, written and engraven in
stones ... the ministry of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 9).
“The letter kills, but the spirit gives life”
(2 Corinthians 3:6). Such legislation as a system of government
“was to be done away” (2 Corinthians 3:7).
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2
Corinthians 3:17). ELM

6 Note God’s action, “And the Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ...
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden
to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:8, 15. Adam was in Eden. YHWH
“took” and “put” Adam into the garden of Eden from outside. As
Walter Vogels notes, the verb, “‘took’ is used in many
biblical texts to express the idea of a bringing out for the purpose of an entry
(Dt. 30:4; Ezek. 36:24, 27:21; Is. 14:2). The verb contains at the same time the
idea of election.” See God’s Universal Covenant: A Biblical Study
(University of Ottowa Press, 1986), p. 19. He notes that this idea of election
no longer comes through in any of our translations. Vogels asks why,

“Did this marvelous paradise and garden of God, with all the
trees good for food (2:9), need to be cultivated? And what could be the meaning
of ‘keep this garden’? Against Whom? The understanding can well become much
easier when seen in the context of the covenant.”

Vogels, p. 20

To Vogels “covenant” means the entire
ritual system including the Tabernacle and Temple. DWS

7 Isaac Hellmuth
notes that the Rabbis considered the “face” or “presence of YHWH to be
indicative of the Shekinah glory. See Biblical Thesaurus, Genesis
(London, 1884), p. 49 on Genesis 3:8. DWS

8 Adam was to protect
the Garden. When Adam was expelled, the Cherubim were assigned to guard the
Garden, apparently transferred from where God was (in the midst of the Garden)
to outside the garden. Umberto Cassuto in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis
(Jerusalem, 1961), p. 122, notes that the Hebrew word shamar used to
describe the function of the Cherubim, “to keep
the way of the tree of life,” is the
same word as in Genesis 2:15 when Adam is commanded while in the Garden of Eden,
“to dress it
(Hebrew, abad)and to keep it
(Hebrew, shamar)”.
Shamar means not only to keep, but also to guard and to
protect. So too Noah was to “keep” the animals (Genesis 6:19–20, 7:3) and
Abraham and Israel were admonished to “keep” God’s covenant. The priests and
Levites were also to serve (abad), protect (shamar) and guard
(another Hebrew word, mishmereth) the sanctuary from unauthorized people,
with the sword if necessary. See Numbers 1:51–53, 8:26, 18:2–7, 31:30, 47;
Joshua 22:27 and Ezekiel 44:8, 15. See Edmund P. Clowney, “The Final Temple” in
Westminster Theological Journal,
vol. 35 (Winter 1973), p. 160, available complete online at
http://www.beginningwithmoses.org/articles/finaltemple.htmDWS

9
This was recognized by Edmund Clowney in “The Final Temple” in The
Westminster Theological Journal v.35 (Winter 1993), p. 160. DWS

“The gate of the garden was barred by ...
the Cherubim [who
held swords]. ... In the tabernacle
and the temple the sword [held by priests and
Levites]continues to keep the gate.
But the altar of sacrifice offers a victim ... so that the worshipper may come
before God.”

10
Solomon constructed the Temple according to the pattern King David received from
God Himself (1 Chronicles 28:11–13). Psalm 92 (which talks about a future
Sabbath rest for the righteous) evokes Eden-like symbolism. DWS

“The righteous man will flourish
like the palm tree
[a date-palm], He will grow like
a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish
in the courts of our God.”

Psalm 92:12–13

11 Again, the
cherubim are symbolically guarding the trees in the midst of the Garden, even in
the Solomonic Temple. DWS

12 Joshua Berman
notes in The Temple: Its
Symbolism and Meaning Then and
Now (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1995), p. 30 that Cherubim, in
addition to guarding the way to the Tree of Life in the Garden. They also
covered or guarded the tablets of the Law in the ark of the testament in the
Holy of Holies in both the Tabernacle and Temple. Remember that touching the
ark caused death (2 Samuel 6:7) just as the Cherubim threatened to do with
their swords at Eden. They symbolized the inaccessibility of man to God.

13
Ezekiel 28 is filled with imagery from both Eden and the Temple. For
example, Berman in The Temple, p. 26, notes that the 9 precious
stones listed in Ezekiel 28:13 are 9 of the 12 stones present in the High
Priests breastplate depicted in Exodus 28:17–20. In fact there are several
points where the Eden of Genesis identifies with the Eden of Ezekiel 28:
both have a garden, both have miraculous trees within the garden, both have
at least 1 cherub associated with them, both are in mountains, both have
creatures that transgress, both contain phrases that closely resemble each
other (“in
the day ... created,” “walking” in the Garden), both have the
guard being the transgressor, both transgressors are expelled and both are
made to be examples for others.

15
In The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George F.
Mendenhall, ed. By H.B. Huffman, et al. (Winona Lake, IN, 1983), pp.
207–219.

16
By the way, these diagrams, schemes and models are for illustration only.

17
There are differences, of course, between Eden and the Tabernacle/Temple. The
Garden has no elements like the pot of manna, the ark, the table of shewbread,
altar of incense or lampstand. The proportions and sizes of the Garden are not
given to us.